Following the Guardians, Drax assisted in killing the Abilisk for the Sovereign people, only for Rocket Raccoon to betray them. Drax followed the Guardians as they encountered Ego, the long lost father of Star-Lord. Along the way he developed a close bond with Mantis, who soon revealed that Ego's true plan was to destroy and rebuild the entire universe. Drax and his fellow Guardians defeated Ego, saving the galaxy once more but at the cost of Yondu Udonta's self-sacrifice.

Four years later, the Guardian of the Galaxy joined up with Thor and the Avengers in trying to stop Thanos from obtaining the Infinity Stones. When Thanos gathered all of the stones, he used them to eradicate half the universe's population, including Drax and the Guardians, except Rocket Raccoon and Nebula.

Early Life

Meeting Hovat

Drax comes from a race of primitives who are considered naive and hopelessly underdeveloped by the more advanced galactic groups. As a result, Drax is extremely unaware of basic concepts such as metaphors and customs. They are, however, a fierce and capable warrior race who follow a tribal-like culture.[1] During his youth, Drax's father would tell the story of the night he had impregnated Drax's mother with him, something Drax found beautiful. While attending a war rally with his people, Drax met a woman named Hovat, falling in love with her due to her lack of joy at the festivities, and together had a daughter named Kamaria.[2]

Quest for Vengeance

Hunting Ronan the Accuser

Drax the Destroyer is imprisoned in the Kyln

"Ronan murdered my wife, Hovat, and my daughter, Kamaria. He slaughtered them where they stood. And he laughed!"

When Ronan the Accuser murdered Hovat and Kamaria under the order of the warlord Thanos, Drax was driven into a path of vengeance and went on a bloody rampage across the galaxy in search of the murderous Kree, gaining a reputation as one of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy and earning the nickname, The Destroyer. After over twenty-two counts of murder and five counts of grievous bodily harm, he was arrested by the Nova Corps and brought to the Kyln.[1]

As Drax served his sentence in the Kyln, he witnessed the arrival of Gamora, the adopted daughter of the Mad Titan Thanos and who had been working for Ronan the Accuser. As Gamora was threatened by the other inmates, many of whom had lost their own families to Ronan's wars, Drax sat quietly and waited for the right moment to gain his revenge and kill Gamora in order to hurt Ronan.

That night, Drax found Moloka Dar dragging Gamora into the shower rooms with some other inmates with the intention of cutting her throat. Drax however appeared and warned them all to stop what they were doing, making it clear how Ronan had murdered both Hovat and Kamaria and therefore he felt he was the one who had to kill Gamora. Dar was clearly terrified of Drax and willingly handed over his own knife to the destroyer to then kill Gamora.

Drax explained that as Ronan had killed his family, he intended to kill one of Ronan's daughters. Gamora however disarmed Drax and Dar, killing the other inmate and threatening them both while noting that she was no daughter of either Thanos or Ronan and in fact was the only hope of stopping them. Drax ignored Gamora's claims and gripped her by the throat, insisting that this changed nothing as he prepared to violently kill her to gain some satisfaction.

Before Drax could have his revenge, he was interrupted by Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon, who insisted that Drax keep Gamora alive in order to draw Ronan to the Kyln where he could destroy the man who killed his family. Despite some mis-communication, Drax eventually agreed that this was the best plan and reluctantly freed Gamora from his grasp. Before he departed to return to his cell, Drax informed Dar he was now keeping the knife for himself.[1]

Prison Break

Drax witnesses the prison riot breaking out

"Cease your yammering and relieve us from this irksome confinement.""Yeah, I’ll have to agree with the walking thesaurus on that one.""Do not ever call me a thesaurus."

The next day, Drax witnessed Groot stealing a Quardrix battery from the middle of the Kyln, causing the entire prison to go straight into emergency mode and the guards to rush in to pacify the inmates. As Drax stood by and watched, Groot grew to an incredible size and battled the Security Drones, with Rocket Raccoon on his back. When Drax saw the guards preparing to shoot at Rocket Raccoon and Groot, he made the split second decision that he would assist them so he could also escape.

Drax fought a number of guards and easily knocked all of them out, laughing hysterically as he did as he enjoyed the sense of battle. Once the guards were defeated, Drax threw a machine gun to Rocket who used it to shoot at the security drones. Drax later assisted Peter Quill by ripping a security drone apart with his bare hands, before calling out Quill for his story of sleeping with an A'askavariian as he climbed up the side of Groot to escape.

The five prisoners locked themselves in the security watchtower, leading to a confrontation between Drax and Gamora, who was horrified that Drax was with them while Rocket mocked their new teammate for his lack of understanding of metaphors. Rocket then initiated his plan. He switched off the prison's artificial gravity, took control of the security drones, and used these drones to propel the watchtower room out of the cell block.

Once they reclaimed their belongings, the group was ordered to wait in Star-Lord's spaceship while he completed one final task. As they waited in the Milano for Quill, Gamora realized that he had taken the Orb with him and therefore they could not leave without him. While Rocket panicked that soon the Nova Corps would arrive and shoot them out of the sky, Drax looked out of the window and was the first to see Quill coming towards them, using his helmet to keep him alive as he jetted through space with his boots and rejoined the others on his ship.

Drax was greatly impressed by Quill's bravery in successfully fighting off the Nova Corps guards and having returned to the ship in such spectacular style, complimenting his new ally as he pulled him onto the ship. Drax questioned what had made Quill depart on his brief mission, but was horrified when he discovered that Quill was simply retrieving his Walkman Headset, looking up at Quill and calling him an imbecile for risking his life for something so minor.[1]

Joining the Team

While travelling in the Milano, the team discussed their next move and who they intended to sell the Orb to. Drax suggested that if it was a weapon they should use it to kill Ronan the Accuser which led to an argument between him and Gamora. Before they could begin fighting, Peter Quill broke them apart and suggested that they concentrate on getting paid, to which Drax claimed to have no interest in money as it did not help him in his goal to kill Ronan.

Drax and the rest of the group traveled to Knowhere to deliver the Orb to Taneleer Tivan, to whom Gamora had agreed to sell the Orb. As they approached the city, Drax was amazed by the incredible structure, which Gamora explained had been built out of the severed head of an ancient celestial being and warning that the people there were not to be trusted. While walking about, Drax and Quill discussed Earth, with Drax noting he would like to visit.

While they waited for Tivan; Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot went to the nearby Boot of Jemiah, where both Drax and Rocket ended up getting drunk and betting on some Orloni fights. For a while Drax and Rocket appeared to get along and even shared laughs together.[1] Taking a break from the drinking and laughing, Drax explained the stories behind his many markings on his skin, however this eventually led to the pair beginning an argument about mourning.[3]

Their argument soon led to Drax and Rocket got into a fight after Drax insulted Rocket's rodent-like appearance. Groot tried to help Rocket, but Drax attacked him and pinned him down where he proceeded hit him repeatedly, prompting Rocket to draw a Laser Cannon and prepare to shoot Drax with it. Luckily, Quill came and stopped the drunken Rocket, convincing him to let it slide until they had gotten their money. In a rage, Drax left the bar. After he left, the rest of the group was finally summoned by Tivan.

While stalking through Knowhere in frustration at his team's inability to work together for his goal of destroying Ronan the Accuser, Drax looked down the street and came across the Knowhere Dispatcher at the Tivan Dispatch Center. Sneaking up on the dispatcher while he was ordering supplies, Drax threatened to cut off his head with twin blades and forced him to call Ronan and bring him to Knowhere so that he could kill him and finally avenge his family.[1]

While the rest of the group discovered that inside the Orb was one of the Infinity Stones powerful enough to destroy a planet, Drax got his knives ready as Ronan the Accuser arrived, prepared to destroy his enemy. While Drax confronted Ronan about the murder of his wife and daughter and his desire for revenge he intended to gain by killing Ronan.

Although Ronan attempted to just walk away, not seeing Drax as a worthy opponent, Drax refused to allow his enemy to get away and charged at him, with Ronan very casually dodging Drax's blows while he continued giving his orders to Nebula to reclaim the Orb from Drax's allies who were attempting to escape. Despite all of Drax's attempts to kill the far stronger Kree soldier, Ronan the Accuser was able to overpower Drax, throwing him around with ease.

Despite all of Drax's efforts as he pounded at Ronan's Kree Armor, he was unable to do any notable damage to his foe, who was able to finally overpower and defeat Drax, choking him and throwing his body to the ground with minimal effort. Ronan dismissed Drax's claims of murdering his family, claiming he did not remember them and would not remember killing him either, with Drax now too beaten and weak to even stand and defend his family's honor.

Once Drax had been easily subdued by Ronan with little effort, he was dragged across the street by his foot before being thrown into a tank full of spinal fluid from the Celestial and left to die, all while Ronan calmly returned to a Necrocraft which took him back to the Dark Aster as Nebula had reclaimed the Orb from Gamora. Drax nearly drowned in the tank, but Groot pulled him out just in time and resuscitated him by stabbing Drax in the chest.

Outside of Knowhere, Gamora was nearly killed by Nebula, and the Orb was retaken by Ronan. Peter Quill summoned the Ravagers to assist, and they ended up capturing him and Gamora. Drax was blamed by Rocket Raccoon for Quill and Gamora's kidnapping, and Drax realized that he used anger just to hide his pain. However, he got no sympathy from Rocket, who intended to escape to the other side of the galaxy to avoid Ronan's wrath. Drax, however, stood by Groot and chose to rescue Quill and Gamora.[1]

Rescuing Peter Quill

Hoping to save Star-Lord and Gamora, the three flew to the Eclector in the Milano, planning to destroy the Ravagers' ship with the Hadron Enforcer if they did not hand over Quill and Gamora in five seconds. Right before they were going to destroy the ship, Quill used the Ravagers' communication system to tell Rocket Raccoon that he had managed to come up with a deal for the leader of the Ravagers, Yondu Udonta.

With Quill and Gamora back on the ship, they began discussing what their next move would be in order to get the Orb back. When Drax attempted to make a comment, Gamora told him not to speak after the disaster he caused on Knowhere by calling Ronan the Accuser in order to try and battle him. When Drax argued he should get credit for saving Quill, he was reminded that his attempt to save him had involved threatening to blow up the ship he was on.

Eventually Quill pitched his plan to attack the Dark Aster, kill Ronan the Accuser and take back the Orb, although the plan seemed like a suicide mission, Drax stood by Quill and vowed to fight with him, noting that once the battle was over and they had all been killed, he would be reunited with his wife and daughter, leading to all the other Guardians of the Galaxy standing with him and agreeing to fight in order to save Xandar and defeat Ronan once and for all.

It didn't take long for the rest of the team to agree to help as well and they went back to the Ravagers' ship to discuss the details of the plan with Udonta and his men. When Kraglin Obfonteri noted that there would be hundreds of Sakaarans onboard the ship willing to fight for Ronan, Drax noted that he viewed the Sakaarans as nothing more than paper people, this pleased Obfonteri who punched Drax in the shoulder, which caused Drax to look at him in rage.

Drax prepares for the upcoming battle

With the plan ready to go into action Drax put on his new uniform and readied his knives to go into battle with his friends in order to save Xandar from almost certain destruction at the hands of Ronan and his army, with Drax joining Quill, Gamora and Groot onboard the Milano which would board the Dark Aster in order to confront Ronan while Rocket had his own ship and led the Ravagers in the upcoming aerial battle against the army of Sakaaran soldiers.[1]

Just before they could all be destroyed however, the Nova Corps arrived, led by Garthan Saal under the orders of Irani Rael. While Saal and Rocket Raccoon kept Ronan's entire army at bay with the aid of the Ravagers, Star-Lord flew the Milano onto the Dark Aster through a hole blasted in by Rocket. As they crash landed into the ship, Drax could not hold back his glee and cheered with delight as Quill used the ships guns to kill dozens of the Sakaarans inside.

Drax apologizes for his more recent mistakes

Once they landed and left the crashed ship they discovered that the Dark Aster who too dark for them to see so Groot used his powers to create a strange light across the ship to show them the way, when Drax questioned how he could do it Star-Lord noted the answer would likely be "I am Groot". As they made their way across the ship, Drax apologized to the group for his past mistakes and expressed his gratitude at having their new found friendship.

They were suddenly stopped by Nebula who attempted to kill the Guardians of the Galaxy, as she cursed at Gamora for betraying Ronan and Thanos, Drax shot her with his rocket launcher, claiming no one should speak to his friends like that. With the threat of Nebula seemingly dealt with the team split up, with Gamora going to unlock the security doors while Drax, Star-Lord and Groot made their way through the Sakaaran army towards Ronan's location.[1]

Skirmish with Korath

As they battled their way towards Ronan the Accuser, killing several Sakaarans who got in their way, they were eventually confronted by a team led by Korath the Pursuer, who attempted to kill Star-Lord in order to prevent any of them from getting close to Ronan. While Drax battled the small army of Sakaaran soldiers, using both of his knives to rip them apart, Star-Lord was forced to battle the far stronger Korath, who easily overpowered the human despite his best efforts to keep fighting.

Once he had killed the soldiers, Drax then came to Quill's aid and personally engaged in a fierce battle against the strong Kree soldier. Eventually Drax managed to pin his new enemy against a wall and proceeded to slay Korath by ripping out one of his cranial implants, electrocuting him to death before making a comment to Quill about whether or not he had successfully said a metaphor by remarking that a finger to the throat was the symbol of death.

Just as Star-Lord considered correcting Drax on the meaning of a metaphor, they were attacking by another large team of Sakaarans sent by Ronan. Before they could engage in another battle against the soldier, Drax and Star-Lord then witnessed Groot massacre the entire team of Sakaarans with minimal effort as he extended his arm and impaled the soldiers. As Groot smashed the soldiers from wall to wall, Drax could not contain his glee at the slaughter.

Drax mistakenly thinks Ronan is dead

As they continued toward, they discovered that the door was still locked due to Gamora being busy battling against Nebula. Before long however the door was opened and the team charged inside to confront the Kree warmonger. Finding Ronan, the group attempted kill him with the Hadron Enforcer, which caused a massive explosion, much to Drax's delight. Ronan however survived and used his own hammer, the Cosmi-Rod to knock back the team.

Still unwilling to allow Ronan to win, Drax charged forward to attack him, only for the powerful Kree to grab him by the throat and hold him high in the air, once again mocking Drax by noting how pitiful he found his wife and daughter's screams to be. Before Ronan could finish the group, Rocket Raccoon suddenly crashed his ship through the Dark Aster and into both Ronan and Drax, causing both vehicles critical damage and almost killing Drax in the process.

Drax was knocked unconscious in the crash and it clearly became clear that the Dark Aster had lost all power and was crashing. In order to save his allies from certain death, Groot created a dome of wood out of his body, which would protect the team when the Dark Aster crashed into Xandar. Despite Rocket's insistence that Groot try and save himself, when the ship crashed, the team were all saved, but Groot's body was pulverized into pieces.[1]

Quill quickly grabbed the stone, but was nearly killed by its power. Gamora helped him by taking his hand and spreading the burden between the two of them. Drax did the same by grabbing onto Quill's shoulder, with Rocket Raccoon following suite by gripping Drax's finger. Stabilizing the stone's power long enough to direct it towards Ronan, the four obliterated him and then resealed the stone back into a new orb-like device, freeing them from it's power.

Drax comforts Rocket after Groot's "death"

With Ronan now dead and Quill having given a fake Orb to Yondu Udonta and his Ravagers so they could give the true Orb to the Nova Corps for safe-keeping, Drax walked over to Rocket Raccoon, who was mourning the death of his dear friend Groot. Seeing no other way to comfort his new friend, Drax simply sat next to him and stroked his fur, which seem to relax him as they sat in wreckage of Xandar while the people looked on in amazement.[1]

As they stepped outside, Rhomann Dey presented Star-Lord and the rest of the team the now newly restored Milano as a thank you from saving their lives during the Battle of Xandar. Dey warned the team that while their criminal records had been deleted, they still could not commit any crimes. Drax questioned this concept by asking if he could rip out a man's spine if he annoys him, to which Dey reminded him that murder was illegal and he would not be allowed.

Drax prepares for his next adventure

Having boarded the Milano with the rest of his new teammates and friends, Drax traveled around the universe with Quill's team, which became known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, with Drax nodding to Rocket Raccoon who was holding a twig from Groot's body which he had planted to regrow his greatest friend. As they prepared to leave Xandar, Quill questioned if they should next do something good or bad before deciding they should do a bit of both.[1]

The twig that Rocket had managed to save from Groot's body soon allowed Groot to grow into a new body, although slowly as he began tidy as he slowly grew back. Once in the Milano, after Groot had grown a little bit bigger, he began to dance to "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 behind Drax as he cleaned and sharpened his knives. Whenever Drax would look in Groot's direction, he would freeze until Drax looked away, leaving Drax still none the wiser to the silliness that was currently occurring just behind his back.[4]

After the Battle of Xandar, the Guardians of the Galaxy became well known across the galaxy. The Sovereign hired the Guardians to take down the Abilisk that was eating their Anulax Batteries. When the Guardians arrived on the planet, Gamora questioned Drax as of why he wasn't wearing one of Rocket's Aero-Rigs which he told her it made his nipples hurt. Quill asked Rocket what he was setting up. When Drax heard that Rocket was setting up a speaker system, he told Rocket that he thought it was a terrible idea.

The Abilisk arrived and Drax leaped into battle wit the rest of his team as Groot began dancing to music, when Drax was knocked back landed next to Groot, Groot froze to Drax's confusion. Who simple got back up and charged back into battle. Drax continued fighting the Abilisk but found that it's skin was too strong to be penetrated before he was knocked back a second time, with him landing on the speakers to Groot's anger and began attempting to hit Drax for stopping the music.

Drax then informed Gamora that the Abilisk must be cut on the inside as its hide is to thick, while Gamora tried to explain to him not to do that because it would not work, Drax grabbed his twin knives and jumped inside it's mouth and began hacking away at its organs. When the Guardians finally killed the creature, Drax fell out of its wound, laughing that he had killed the beast, with the rest of the Guardians looking at him angrily for taking the credit.[2]

Back onboard the Milano, Drax witnessed Star-Lord attempting to flirt with Gamora and failing, so he decided to offer his own opinions. Drax told Star-Lord that he should not pursue Gamora, noting that there were only two types of beings in the universe, those who danced and those who did not, explaining this was why they should not be together. Drax then went on to tell the story of how he first met Hovat and how he fell in love with her as she refused to dance to even the most enjoyable song just like he would.

During the flight however, they were suddenly attacked from behind and realized it was the Sovereign, seeking revenge for the Guardians having stolen the Batteries from them, which Drax then inadvertently revealed to the others, much to Rocket's great annoyance. As Star-Lord attempted to fly away from the incoming horde of Sovereign ships, he and Rocket got into an argument about who should fly the ship while Drax protected Groot from being sucked out of the ship. As the chase continued through an asteroid field, the outnumbered Guardians were aided by Ego who quickly destroyed hundreds of the Sovereign ships with a single powerful attack.

Despite Ego destroying the majority of the fleet, Drax soon realized that Zylak was the one surviving Sovereign pilow still shooting at them. Taking one of the Holographic Space Suits, Drax stepped out of the Milano in mid-flight with a gun and attempted to shoot Zylak's Omnicraft out of the sky himself, eventually succeeding although he then found he could not get back into the Milano to safety as it quickly began losing control and crash landing.

Drax celebrates surviving the crashlanding

As the Milano fell towards Berhert, Drax remained trapped outside as Gamora desperately tried to pull him to safety. Eventually the ship him the ground and was torn apart by the impact, with Drax being flung away and hitting the ground hard. However Drax's own super-human strength allowed him to survive the impact as he got onto his knees and celebrated the victory, yelling out insults to the Sovereign as he laughed and cheered about the victory. He then regrouped with the other Guardians who were arguing about the crash.[2]

Having crash landed, Drax watched as Gamora had begun furiously confronting both Rocket Raccoon and Star-Lord over all their own involvement in the crash, blaming them for causing it by challenging each other. During the argument Drax interrupted by attempting to correct Star-Lord's pronunciation of Anulax Batteries although Star-Lord still insisted that he was incorrect. When Star-Lord called Rocket a trash panda, Rocket asked Drax what it meant while Drax admitted he did not know while Star-Lord hinted it was.

While Gamora was still furious at the entire situation, they discussed how it was possible that Ayesha's entire army of Sovereign ships were suddenly destroyed by another person's ship which Rocket described as three inches tall. Before they could discuss this further, the group were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Ego's Ship, with Drax questioning if this was the man Rocket had mentioned. Arming himself, Drax watched as Ego left the ship before introducing himself as Star-Lord's long lost father, much to their surprise.

As they sat around the fire and listened to Ego explaining how he had been searching for Star-Lord, ever since Yondu Udonta had failed to bring him back to him as required. Drax questioned his belief that Udonta had been Star-Lord's father, noting that they looked identical despite Udonta's blue skin. Mantis then spoke with Drax, attempting to smile before Drax then taught her the concept of jokes by letting her pet Rocket who then bit her, much to Drax's amusement.

Drax was then invited to come to Ego's Planet to discuss the matter more along with Star-Lord and Gamora, leaving Nebula behind with Rocket and Groot while Rocket was attempting to repair all of the damage done to the Milano during their crash landing. Drax chose to pack several large bags with his belongings, telling Star-Lord that he did not trust Rocket and Groot to be alone with his stuff. They then left the planet of Berhert onboard Ego's own Ship.

While flying through space towards his planet, Drax watched as Ego was put to sleep by Mantis. Drax later sat down with Star-Lord and Mantis as they discussed a bet they had made in regards to Mantis' antennas and their purpose which Drax now believed they were for protecting her from low levelled doors. Mantis explained that she is an Empath and can read peoples feelings, meaning Drax had lost his bet to Star-Lord, much to his own great disappointment.

Mantis demonstrated this power to them both by using her abilities to sense that Star-Lord felt a strong sexual love for Gamora, causing Drax to burst out laughing out loud at his own friend's expense, with Mantis touching Drax's skin to also feel Drax's remarkable joy at the situation. Although Gamora still refused to get involved with the discussion and did not allow Mantis to touch her skin, they went on to discuss how Mantis could use her powers to help Ego to sleep for long journey's like this, using this power on Drax who instantly fell backwards, sound asleep while snoring loudly.[2]

Exploring Ego's Planet

Drax arrived on Ego's Planet with Peter Quill, Gamora and Mantis and was instantly captivated. He immediately noted the world's humility, believing it be a personal trait of his. Upon touching the bubbles that surrounded the vessel, Drax burst into laughter; again illustrating one of his more childish sides.

Ego explains his origins to the Guardians.

Ego discussed his history to the Guardians of the Galaxy as a Celestial, highlighting how his power left him desiring meaning; requiring him to create human avatars. Drax questioned if Ego made himself a penis, to the disgust of Quill and Gamora. Appearing genuinely dismayed, Drax queried how a planet could have intercourse with a human woman. With no delicacy, Drax revealed that his father would recount the story of his own conception every winter solstice. He concluded this debate with Quill by suggesting that he was too troubled about discussing reproducing.[2]

Bonding with Mantis

During his stay on Ego's Planet, Drax spent time with Mantis. Mantis revealed that she was an orphan when Ego found her and chose to raise her by hand. Ever inquisitive, Drax asked if she was instead a pet; and was confused as to why Ego would choose a hideous pet. Drax assured Mantis that looking horrifying was a good thing, as she would be loved for who she is. Drax noted that the pools on Ego's planet reminded him of those found on his home world, and the times he spent with his daughter there. He compared his daughter to Mantis, stating that they shared the same innocence.

Mantis then used her abilities to feel Drax's emotions, and was overwhelmed by the grief and sadness that she found. Drax remained unmoved. Troubled with guilt, Mantis said that
she had something to tell Drax, but was interrupted by Gamora. Drax and Gamora were shown to their quarters by Mantis, who insisted that she had nothing to say to Drax before Gamora interrupted her. Drax and Gamora shared suspicion about Mantis' claim.[2]

Mantis' Confession

"All any of you do is yell at each other. You're not friends.""You're right. We're family. We leave no one behind. Except maybe you."

Drax was suddenly woken up by Mantis, who could bear her guilt no longer. Thinking that Mantis was sexually interested in him, Drax apologised for not being attracted to her. He stated that he preferred a woman with 'meat on her bones'. Drax almost threw up at the thought of having intimate relations with her. Offended, Mantis stated that she wasn't attracted to Drax's species; a suggestion he found offensive. Having had enough of his bickering, Mantis exclaimed that Drax and his friends were in danger.

The pair left Drax's quarters and began speaking in the corridor, only to be interrupted by Gamora once again. Gamora's suspicions turned violent as she attacked Mantis, demanding to know what Ego really wanted. Drax retaliated by demanding that Gamora release her from her grasp. Drax then revealed to former assassin that Mantis had already told him everything. Upon Nebula's suggestion that they abandon Peter Quill to his fate, Drax announced that they were family; and would leave no one behind.[2]

Drax and his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy rushed to the palace to save Peter Quill from being used as a battery as a part of Ego's Expansion. Drax kicked the palace doors down just as Yondu Udonta and Rocket Raccoon's industrial craft collided straight into Ego, releasing Quill from Ego's grip. The Guardians boarded Udonta's craft and decided that in order to prevent Ego's conquest of the universe, they would have to destroy him. Quill and Udonta piloted the craft to the centre of the planet in an effort to destroy Ego's brain.

Meanwhile, The Sovereign's fleet entered Ego's orbit to eliminate the Guardians of the Galaxy. In their attack, the fleet managed to knock Drax, Gamora and Mantis out of the craft and onto the surface of Ego's core. As Ego grew more powerful, Drax suggested that Mantis put her former master back to sleep. Mantis rejected Drax stating that Ego was too powerful for her abilities. Seeing that her confidence was gone, Drax proclaimed that she didn't need faith in herself, because Drax believed in her. Placing her hand in the planet, Mantis successfully commanded Ego to sleep. Relieved, Drax admitted that he didn't believe she could do it, given how weak and skinny she was.

Drax and the Guardians of the Galaxy unite.

The Guardians regrouped on the surface of Ego's core where Mantis was knocked unconscious by debris, which released Ego from his temporary sleep. Drax picked up Manits as the planet began collapsing around them. Star-Lord gave his Aero-Rigs to Drax and immediately flew to the extraction point, taking Mantis with him. Kraglin Obfonteri met Drax and Mantis at the extraction point in a Ravager Ship, which was quickly overpowered by Ego. As Ego's power returned, Drax sank into the planet, fighting to stay above the ground. Before he was consumed by the surface, he was able to keep Mantis above the rising dirt.

As Quill used his abilities to fight against his father, Ego's hold on the Guardians ceased, and the dirt consuming Drax plummeted. Finally, Drax carried the unconscious Mantis into the Ravager ship and to safety. Rocket commanded Obfonteri to take off, to the objection of Drax who repeatedly demanded to know where Quill was. As the Guardians flew into orbit, Udonta gave Quill his Space Suit and aero-rig, sacrificing himself and dying in the vacuum of space.[2]

Yondu's Funeral

Drax assisted in preparing Yondu Udonta's funeral, standing vigil as Peter Quill gave a eulogy. During which, he and Rocket Raccoon shared a confused look when Quill mentioned David Hasselhoff. Drax watched as the remaining Ravagers gave Udonta a traditional Farewell. Groot yawned in Gamora's arms and sought the comfort of Drax, who patted him to sleep. Mantis stood in awe of the funeral, admiring it's beauty. Drax added that she was beautiful too, on the inside.

On the way to Knowhere, Drax watched as Gamora made Peter promise to kill her if she gets captured by her father, due to her knowing something that could be dangerous if Thanos obtained the information for her. They shared a sweet moment that was interrupted by Drax. Asked how long he stood there, Drax said that he can be invisible if he stands very still, doing a little demonstration. Mantis then salutes Drax, making the latter annoyed that his trick didn't work.

Arriving on Knowhere, they found Thanos trying to force the Collector to give him the Reality Stone. Eager to avenge his wife and child, Drax tried to attack Thanos before the Guardians were ready. Star-Lord tried to restrain him, but Mantis intervened and used her abilities to make him sleep. While he was out, Gamora attacked and seemingly killed Thanos. However, it was all an illusion created by Thanos who had already obtained the Reality Stone. As Thanos took Gamora captive, Drax woke and tried to help but was petrified and broken into pieces by Thanos' command of the Reality Stone. With Gamora in hand, Thanos teleported away from Knowhere, and Drax resumed his normal form.[5]

Nebula contacted Mantis and told her to meet on Titan. The Guardians headed to the planet and ambushed Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange, believing that they were in league with Thanos. After the misunderstanding was sorted out, the Guardians joined forces with them as Thanos was expected to come to them to obtain the Time Stone from Doctor Strange.

When Thanos arrived, Drax and the assembled heroes worked in concert in an effort to stop him. Drax and Strange first engaged Thanos in combat using their weapons and were able to hold their own but Thanos's skills and strength was too much and Drax was the first overpowered and incatipated with a powerful punch that sent him through stones. Drax quickly recovered, however, and he played a role in restraining Thanos by grabbing his leg. They were close to removing the Infinity Gauntlet from Thanos after restraining him and getting Mantis to subdue his mind, but after Star-Lord discovered that Thanos had killed Gamora, he flew into a rage and allowed Thanos to escape the trap. Eventually, Thanos obtained the Time Stone and transported to Earth to claim the Mind Stone.[5]

Thanos' Victory

As the heroes recovered in the aftermath of the battle of Titan, Thanos united the Infinity Stones and killed half of the universe with a snap of his fingers. On Titan, Mantis was the first to disintegrate into dust, followed by Drax.[5]

Personality

"His people are completely literal. Metaphors are gonna go over his head.""Nothing goes over my head! My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it."

Underneath Drax's brutish appearance, serious demeanor and seemingly unquenchable murderous rage, due to his quest to avenge his family, belies a sense of honor and a calm mind capable of strategy and refined eloquence. He was capable of elaborated speech filled with vocabulary few would expect someone like him to know when calm, enough to prompt Peter Quill to call him a thesaurus, which he disliked as he did not understand that it was a metaphor. As such, Drax demonstrated many times a severe lack of understanding for metaphors and symbolism, noted to be a trait of his people by Rocket Raccoon.

His rage and hatred for Ronan the Accuser often made him highly impatient with his new teammates when he did not see that they could beat Ronan. This made him act without thinking of the consequences, such as getting Ronan to come to Knowhere in order to fight him, which lead to Ronan obtaining the Orb, nearly destroying his friends, and eventually lead to the Battle of Xandar and near destruction of the planet at Ronan's hands. He felt great remorse towards his rashness and selfishly endangering others for his own vengeance, prompting him to work better with his team. However, his vengefulness then made him want to kill Thanos when he rationalized that Ronan was only a puppet. Upon finally encountering Thanos, unaware that it is an illusion, Drax's patience and serenity, which he acquired from being with the other Guardians, quickly crumbled, as he was visibly trembling in rage to the point that he did not want to spy on Thanos but to immediately engage him, having to be restrained by Quill. Upon Thanos revealing his illusion and grabbing Gamora, Drax furiously yelled at him to let her go, although it is for naught as Thanos calmly and mockingly used the Reality Stone to incatipate Drax. Drax later screamed Thanos's name furiously when the Guardians arrived on Titan, angrily throwing his knives at Doctor Strange without considering that it may not be Thanos. Drax also displayed that he is quick to make assumption on the personality of others when he has a grudge on them, as due to Thanos's killing of his family, Drax believed Thanos is a monster incapable of loving anything or mourning for anyone, as he was surprised when Mantis said that Thanos is in mourning. His wrathfulness, as well as his calm demeanor, also hide his sadness and grief over his family, though Mantis was able to sense and experience it and was driven to tears while Drax remained outwardly unfazed, only showing some somberness.

Though his warrior mentality caused him to appear brooding and serious, Drax expressed an immature and childish excitement for battle and adventure and was often thrilled when faced with dangerous and tense situations. As such, he was laughing jovially when fighting guards at the Kyln and when crashing into the Dark Aster with his team. Drax has an uncanny affinity for knives, making them his weapon of choice in most situations, regardless of the size and type of foes he fought unless forced otherwise. It was so well-known that Moloka Dar attempted to appease him by offering Drax his own. Despite this, he was willing to use other weapons, such as the Hadron Enforcer.

Although Drax has grown fond of his teammates, his social skills leave much to be desired as he called Gamora a "green whore" when telling her she is his friend along with the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Ironically, he will not hesitate to harm or even kill anyone who insults his friends, as he blasted Nebula with a rocket launcher as she was insulting Gamora, before calmly stating no one could speak to his friends in such a manner. Though unlikely to admit being so, he was shown time and again to have a soft side to him, enough to comfort his friend, Rocket Raccoon, when the latter seemingly lost his friend, Groot.

After the battle with Ronan, Drax attempted to learn more about living as a modern citizen to avoid getting into any more trouble with the law since his records have been expunged. He, in turn, experienced trouble understanding this concept, he asked if he could rip out a man's spine if he annoys him, which Rhomann Dey reminded him was murder, and therefore, illegal.

For Drax, his exploits with the Guardians of the Galaxy have been a journey of renewal. The trauma he suffered after losing his family was so severe that he lost himself to rage and revenge. Yet the new family Drax has found has given him more serenity and allowed him to come to terms with this tragedy and attempted to find peace and calm within himself. In the Guardians, Drax finds an adopted family that share similar experiences of loss and hardship. In particular, Drax finds a daughter figure in Mantis, whom he sees as sharing the same innocence that his daughter once had.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Superhuman Strength: Drax has much more physical prowess than most species, being able to lift bulk weight and breaking through solid stone and metal. Using his brute strength alone, he easily tore a turret drone in half, ripped off pieces of Groot, and pulled out Korath's cybernetic implant from his head. His strength has allowed him to overpower many enemies and toss them aside, to the point where he could easily restrain Gamora with one hand, brawl with Groot and effortlessly take out most of Ronan's forces. He was also able to match and eventually overpower the cybernatically augmented Kree Korath the Pursuer. The strength of Drax also extends to his legs, allowing him to jump great heights at a single leap; he was able to catch a drone several feet off the ground with a single leap, and also was able to jump several meters to attack Ronan. Despite his incredible strength, the likes of Ronan the Accuser and Thanos proved to be much stronger than Drax, although he could still fight against the Kree General for a time before Ronan overpowered him easily and managed to injure Thanos slightly on the leg using his knives when he had him off-guard as well as with aid from Doctor Strange's Eldritch Whips, Spider Man's web, and Star-Lord blaster bottom barell 's electric stream, he was even able to restrain Thanos long enough for Mantis to briefly subdue him so Iron Man and Spider Man may attempt to pull the Infinity Gauntlet from his left arm, but Drax proved to pose no threat to the Titan alone, as Thanos easily parried Drax's knive slashes and soon overpowered and punched him through stones, briefly knocking him out.

Superhuman Durability: Drax can withstand attacks that most species cannot, due to impact resistant skin. During the prison escape, Drax withstood direct turret blasts to his chest unharmed before tearing the turret apart with his bare hands. Drax has also withstood a beating from Ronan the Accuser, who sent Drax flying several dozen feet through a metal wall. Also in the Guardians' battle with Ronan aboard the Dark Aster, Drax was able to survive the impact of Rocket's M-Ship crashing into him, although he was knocked unconscious, and sustained no injuries when he was flung against several trees as the Milano crashed while he was tethered to the outside of the ship. Drax had even survived being smashed to the ground when the Abilisk's tentacles grabbed him. He also could easily survive falls from great heights and land on his feet. Drax was even able to withstand a powerful blow from Thanos himself, which knocked him through stones, and then was able to withstand being hurled off Thanos and quickly recover to attempt to battle him again alongside Nebula and Quill, surviving a powerful shockwave from the Power Stone, although it knocked him out for a while.

Superhuman Agility: Drax is able to move and jump with great speed and height. He was able to jump 10 feet high, at least 60 feet across when he lunged at Ronan on Knowhere, and jumped several feet into an Abilisk's mouth.

Regenerative Healing Factor: Drax's cells regenerate much faster than most species. During his fight with Ronan, Drax suffered several bruises and cuts on his face, however when he was removed from the yellow liquid tank, he was completely healed.

Abilities

Expert Combatant: Drax has proven to be a brutal, yet highly accomplished combatant, able to overpower multiple opponents, including several Kyln guards and Sakaaran warriors with little effort. He was also capable of fighting equally with the highly trained and cybernatically enhanced Kree Korath the Pursuer, eventually managing to kill him. He was briefly able to hold his own against Ronan the Accuser, lasting longer than most, although he was ultimately no match for the Kree Commander's skill and strength. Drax was even skilled enough that he could briefly fight against Thanos himself alongside Doctor Strange for a time, although Thanos was hampered by having his sight hampered by a web cotton and swiftly overwhelms them.

Knife Mastery: Drax is very skilled in using knives, particularly his own dual knives, that he used to take down many Sakaaran soldiers and even land a strike on Thanos and fight against the Titan alongside Strange using a sword made of Eldritch Magic, although only briefly.

Equipment

Dual Knives: Drax's weapons of choice are two knives which he often takes into battle. Due to his main knives being taken away by the Kyln guards, Drax briefly used Moloka Dar's knives until he got his own back. He then used the knives to battle Ronan the Accuser during the Skirmish on Knowhere as well as fighting against the Sakaarans during the Battle of Xandar, using them for both close quarters combat as well as using them as throwing knives.

Trivia

In the comics, Drax was a human named Arthur Douglas whose wife was killed by Thanos. His daughter, Heather, survived and was found by Thanos' father. She grew up to become the superheroine Moondragon.

In the movie, it required Drax plus 3 of the other Guardians to control the power of the Orb for just a moment. However, in the comics, an incarnation of Drax managed to easily control the Power Gem by himself.

Drax's skin tone was changed from the bright green in the comics to a muddier grey, to avoid visual similarities to Hulk. [6]

Drax has sensitive nipples, this is also the reason why he doesn't like wearing Rocket's Aero-Rigs, also explaining why he never wears a shirt, with the fabric causing discomfort.